Dual Diagnosis: Treatment Choices

Posted on : February 27th, 2015 |
By : towardsrecovery

Living with drug addiction and a mental health disorder can be debilitating. With a dual diagnosis, recovery from drug addiction becomes more challenging when a mental health disorder is also diagnoses. Recovery professionals have to work with both diagnoses, and in many cases, the dual diagnoses can vary greatly from one patient to the next. If you have been given a dual diagnosis, you might wonder what your recovery program will hold. Fortunately, there are several options that work well for co-occurring disorders and they are usually successful.

Get a Full Evaluation

The first step to treating a dual diagnosis is to fully evaluate the disorders. Your diagnoses will be tested so the treatment procedures can be properly chosen. Without tests, which could include medical tests like blood tests as well as psychological evaluations, your treatment might take longer than it should.

Your Own Individualized Treatment Plan

After the tests, the team at Towards Recovery will be able to craft a plan that will be only for you and your diagnoses. The treatment plan will be chosen to stabilize your mental health issue and your drug addiction and as you move through the steps of the plan, you will get closer to your goal of full recovery from your addiction and management of your mental health problem. This personalized treatment plan could change as you move through the progression of the plan.

Psychiatric Care to Manage Mental Health Diagnosis

A dual diagnosis usually involves some psychiatric care that is created just for you. Depending on the diagnosis, you might need to have regular therapy sessions with a licensed psychologist. You might also need to take prescription medication to manage your mental health disorder. No matter what psychiatric care is recommended, you can trust that it will be individualized just for you.

Support Groups Provide Strength in Numbers

Support groups can be suggested as a treatment option, too. If you need to spend some time in an inpatient facility, you could be required to attend group meetings. Support groups can help people with drug addictions with the success of their recovery; there is a sense of strength in numbers. At Towards Recovery Centers, we can help you with decisions about support group meetings as well as help you keep your drug addiction recovery moving in the right direction.

Medication Will Monitored and Adjusted as Needed

With a dual diagnosis, monitoring medication is vital to the success of the recovery program. It is important to keep the mental health diagnosis stable in order to be successful on the addiction treatment plan. With your individualized treatment plan, your medications might be adjusted every so often so you get exactly what your mind and body needs. It is important that you keep your healthcare team abreast of any issues you have with your medications.

Regular Check-ins Show Commitment to Success

Check-ins with your healthcare team will help your treatment plan work properly. Our case managers at Towards Recovery Clinics are dedicated to your recovery, but they need you to be involved in your recovery, too. Your check-ins are vital so that your treatment plan can continually be evaluated for success.

Get Your Family Involved in Your Treatment

While support groups will help with the social aspect of your treatment plan, your family will play a more important role: regular, daily support. Successful treatment plans integrate family support programs, like education, support groups, and counseling sessions for the people who were with your prior to the program and who will continue to be with you throughout the treatment program.

Aftercare Support Prevents Relapses

Once your treatment program is declared successful, you still might not be finished working with your healthcare team. There will be obstacles that develop after you return to a functional lifestyle and aftercare support will be necessary. It is important to accept aftercare support to prevent relapses.